Monthly Archives: October 2022

Slider, Sports

Knights Men’s Basketball media day for 2022-23 season

and  

On Wednesday Oct. 12, the NECC Knight’s men’s basketball held media day at 3 p.m. in the Sport and Fitness center in the Haverhill campus.

Their 2022-23 campaign is set to begin on Nov. 4 against New Hampshire Tech at 7:15 p.m. The Knights will play the first six games on the road before their home opener on Nov. 17 against Quincy College.

Ashton Ventola of Danville, N.H., played 23 games for the Knights last season. He is currently majoring in exercise science transfer.

Ventola said he is working hard during the offseason to get prepared for the season. “Just keeping my body right, definitely been incorporating a lot more weight training. I’ve gained fifteen pounds of muscle in the offseason definitely a significant increase,” he said. “Just also keep hitting the gym and just keep my work ethic up you know working on my skills, my ball handling, my guard skills, shooting, finishing around the rim all of that stuff like that.”

Ventola is most looking forward this upcoming season to winning Region 21 and make it to the nationals. “…We know we can make it there, we can compete I’m just trying to do my part to help my team win…”he said.

A personal goal for Ventola that he has for this upcoming season is working on his game and transferring to a four-year school to continue playing basketball.

I asked Ventola of how he thinks his experience is going to be playing in Long Island, N.Y., and in Newark, N.J., as the Knights is set to play a weekend match against Suffolk County Community College and Essex County College.

“Is going to be fun that’s all I got to say, make some noise, you know help my team make some noise, you know put us in the map outside of Region 21, the end goal like I said win a championship and my own goal is to move on to a four year. I know I can, my teammates know I can (there are) new faces this year… the mission is the same go get that chip” Ventola said.

Mike Diaz of Lawrence is a freshman business transfer major. He told me that he has been playing basketball since he was 6-years-old.  “I had no offers coming into NECC and I chose this because my previous basketball coach told me this is going to be a great opportunity for me and NECC basketball coach took me in and it was history ever since that,” he said.

A skill that he has  that it could be a game changer is his sportsmanship and his communication communications, he said. “ I feel like my sportsmanship is top tier and my communication skills and I am a leader even though I am one of the younger guys I still have that leadership from me coming from high skills and I feel that could help the team,” Diaz said.

He is most looking forward during the season is to get better everyday and to have as much film as possible.

Darlin Santiago of Salem he is a freshman a newcomer for the Knights majoring in business.

NECC Knights 2022-23 team photo during media day
NECC Knights 2022-23 team photo during media day Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

He told me that he had other offers to play somewhere else. “I (have) been playing basketball since I was 5 years old,” Santiago said. “I had other offers other JUCCOS, COVID year missed up my grades so this is one of the best options I had so that’s why I picked Northern Essex,” he said.

A skill that he has on the table is he can find guys that are open so he can pass it to his teammates and score on open shots, he said.

He is working on his defense and his conditioning to improve before Nov. 4, which is the Knights first game of the season.

He is most looking forward to having that bond with his teammates and knowing the coaches better.

Philip Cunningham of Haverhill is a business major in his second year for the Knights as he is getting ready for the upcoming season last season he played 26 games.

“I really just being in the gym lifting, going on workouts and playing more for my teammates and others to be prepared for the season,” he said.

Other than wining region 21 Cunningham is looking for his team to go undefeated.

NECC Knights men’s basketball  head coach is Darren Stratton, Stratton last season took the Knights to the Region 21 championship game.

I asked him if he had enough sleep during the offseason and hopefully the team that he and his coaching staff have has improved from the previous season.

“Yeah I think my biggest thing Jose, was I didn’t get enough sleep during the offseason part of coaching is once one season is over the another one begins,” said Stratton. “You know the lost to CCRI (Community College of Rode Island)in the Regional championship game kinda motivate us a little bit more in the aspect knowing what type of kids that we need to recruit what type of players we needed to add to the upcoming roster in order to get better … I’m excited for the upcoming 2022-23 season and hopefully we can build upon that is a new season and hopefully we can grow as a basketball team,” he said.

Stratton and I talked a little bit about the roster and how a certain player made the roster and also the decision of cutting players.

“… We (are) carrying a really large number this year. We (are)carrying 21 guys that we felt that we had close to 40 kids ether involved or trying to try out. We cut down to 21 kids but we (are) holding a couple of redshirt candidates as well, (those kids are) going to practice with us but not be able to play during the games, so I am a little skeptical carrying such a large number of our kids but we are going to try to work on the aspect of, give the guys the reps that we think they are going to play a lot and continue with it, while maybe those other guys that are in the bench could earn a spot or earn some time in the basketball court but right now we (are)carrying 21 guys so that’s what we going to continue with for the upcoming season …” Stratton said.

“Yes it is extremely difficult (cutting players) I’m going to be honest with you that’s the worst part of this job is making those tough decisions to try to put a team together. Sometimes I learned over the years I used to try to keep all of the best players and I was pretty successful so I tried to find an even balance of hardworking kids, talented players and try to find the right balance for that. Also I take into account that if I think a player is going to make the team but not seeing a lot of playing time as potential down the road I will probably have not played this year so we can develop (them) and make an easy transition for next year…” Stratton said.

Stratton also kept all of his returns that were on the last season and had an honest conversation with some of them.

Stratton told me that right now the team is figuring out their way to work as a team as a whole and be united.

Stratton is excited that the team is going to a weekend in New York and in  New Jersey to play two different college basketball teams. “I’m excited about it Dan (Blair) and I had a conversation at the end of the season with us losing the region championship we were up for a large bid for the national tournament and the one knock on us was that we didn’t play (a) tough enough schedule,” he said. “Our strength schedule was weak they didn’t consider the teams from New Hampshire Tech conference as reliable opponents so what we did is Dan (Blair) and I sat down and we tried to create one of the toughest schedules that we can play. Inn order to do that you have to play teams that were out of your Region that are Region 15, some rank opponents and that’s what we trying to do. Going down to Long Island in New York to play Suffolk (County Community College) is going to be extremely difficult but what I think the kids is going to be up for the challenge and travel to division two Essex (County College) which have all scholarship kids is going to be difficult for us there but I think also is going to be extremely beneficial for us because it is going to put us on an overnight trip where we are forced to get a long and get a chance to know each other better by being on those trips. I’m looking forward to it… Stratton said.

Stratton and I talked about TD Turkey Classic that is going to take place during Thanksgiving weekend.

“Dan (Blair) and I, that’s another thing Dan wanted to do, he’s been a fabulous AD I couldn’t ask for a better athletic director to work for. I (have) worked for four different ones here at the college. So Dan and I got a great relationship in the aspect of he wants the best of the student athletes not only athletics but academically, also he wants the opportunity to play top notch programs so Dan asked my opinion on the Turkey Classic in Thanksgiving and I was all in and all for it from the beginning and we will able to get Suffolk up here and (SUNY) Adirondack, top two programs out of New York to come up here and play what I think one of the top teams in our region with us and Bunker Hill I think coming here and being able to compete against them is only beneficial for our Region to show what capable talent our region has as well…” Stratton said.

Campus Life

Career Services wants to connect with students

and  

NECC’s Career Services office is here to be a resource to students at all stages of their academic journey and career development, and to support recent alumni after graduation.

Many aspects of career development are helpful to start early and we encourage students to connect with us.

We have career exploration resources to help those who are undecided research and learn about different occupational areas and set career goals and plans.

We also have tools and support to help those who already know the path they want to go and are ready for their next steps.

Career development is a process best started early to maximize opportunities and includes:
• career exploration and identifying interests, values, and priorities
• researching companies, occupations, and industries
• understanding networking: what it is, how to do it, and why it’s so important
• preparing targeted job search tools such as resumes, cover letters, and online profiles
• utilizing LinkedIn
• developing and practicing interviewing skills
• job and internship search strategies
• using the Handshake platform
• and more!

We encourage students to use the many free resources offered by NECC, including Handshake.

It is the #1 way college students get hired and is a great tool to use long before you are job or internship searching to learn about companies, attend virtual events, understand different fields, and hear what employers are looking for. It’s also a great place to start networking, an area that is important to start early.

Another place to start networking is right here at NECC.

The faculty and staff here want to help you succeed and the students that you interact with in your Academic Center and your classes are the people who are going to be working in your field.

Building your network with these connections helps you stay in touch and maintain these valuable contacts and we are here to help with all of these things!

To meet with Career Services, schedule an appointment through Navigate or reach out at careerservices@necc.mass.edu.

Appointments are available on Zoom or in-person at either campus in the Career Services office or the Academic Centers.

Access Handshake at https://app.joinhandshake.com/edu or through the link on the Career Services page of the NECC website  and log in with your NECC credentials.

Reach out any time if we can be of any assistance, we look forward to working with you!

For more information:

Opinion

Deja vu all over again

and  

As the 60th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis rapidly approaches, it might be a good idea to consider what lessons can be drawn from it – especially since even President Biden has warned that “Armageddon” is a possible outcome of the current situation in Ukraine.  I can testify that many people at the time in 1962 felt that the Last Judgment was indeed at hand.  For example, unwilling to see a mushroom cloud appear over Boston, a psychiatrist friend of mine flew to Australia and remained there until the crisis was over.  Many of my friends said goodbye to each other, convinced that the end was near.

Our official mythology is that a handsome young president bravely stood up to the reckless Russians and forced them to stand down.  The reality is more complicated.  Ending the crisis required Kennedy to offer the Russians an “off ramp” by promising not to invade Cuba (which had been invaded by the US in 1961) and to pull our missiles out of Turkey if they would remove their missiles from Cuba.  (For the details, see the CNN series “Cold War.”)  For all his bravado at the outset of the crisis, Kennedy proved flexible enough to avoid nuclear war – which he estimated had up to a 40% probability of breaking out.

How does this apply to Ukraine?  However unprincipled the Russian invasion, it arose out of Russia’s historically based fear of being surrounded by hostile Western powers.  Ending the current crisis would, at a minimum, require guarantees of neutrality for Ukraine (i.e., no NATO membership) along with some accommodation for Russian interests in the region.  The only way out is by negotiation, which neither side seems willing to consider.  Things have reached a point where a recent column in the Wall Street Journal warned that we may have to actually consider sacrificing New York to save Kyiv!

As someone who lived through the Cuban missile crisis, I am struck by our apparent denial of the ramifications of the crisis in Ukraine.  Are we afraid?  Fear is a rational response to a life-threatening situation.  We need to have the courage to recognize our fear and to chart a course away from nuclear annihilation.  That would require acknowledging our vulnerability and doing the unthinkable:  signing and ratifying the January 2021 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and resisting the temptation to use, or threaten to use, weapons that have the capacity to end human life on this lovely, fragile habitation we call Earth.

 

 

Slider, Sports

Knights volleyball comeback felt short against Holyoke

and  

On Tuesday, Oct. 11 Holyoke defeated the NECC Knights in five sets in the Sport and Fitness Center on Haverhill campus.

The Knights lost the first two sets 25-19 and 25-15. The Knights won the next two 25-22 and 25-9 before losing on the decisive set five 15-9.

The game officially started at 6:33 p.m.

In the first set the Knights were quickly down the first two points. The Knights quickly got themselves into the game, but a spike from Heather Walsh of Harwich made it 4-3 in favor of Holyoke.

The Knights tied the game at four, then Holyoke scored the next two points and eventually the Knights did not just tie the game at six but they took the lead in the first set.

It was a good battle in the first set. Both teams were competitive and were looking to take the first set of best of five sets.

The Knights tied the game at 16. The Knights called a time out when they where losing by a point they were down 19-18.

Holyoke went on a 6-1 run on the Knights to finish off the first set as Holyoke took set one 25-19 from the Knights.

Just like the first set, the Knights were down early in the second set.

The Knights came back to take a 4-3 lead. They then increased that lead by three.

Holyoke came back to tie the game at nine, but the Knights scored the very next point to make it 10-9.

The game was 14 to 11 and the Knights were down by three when Coach Mike Pelosi of Haverhill decided to call a time out.

The Knights then were losing by six when miscommunication between Ashley Martinez of Lawrence and Ashley Dominguez of Lawrence let the ball drop right in front of them.

Knights volleyball against Holyoke in the Sport and Fitness Center
Knights volleyball against Holyoke in the Sport and Fitness Center Photo by Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

“I do believe communication plays a really big role playing the sport of volleyball in general not only in our team but just in general volleyball is a team sport and without communicating you really don’t know where the ball is going to,” said NECC women’s volleyball player Eliany Dejesus of Lowell after the game. “ …We are still working, I feel like we didn’t communicate in the beginning because we might of just gone in our heads and just didn’t communicate … other than that our girls really pulled through and stared getting their act together and I really believe they tried their hardest to win today even though we took a lost it was a w(in) to me,”

The Knights were down by eight when they were losing 20 to 12.

After the time out the Knights were looking to regroup but it wasn’t enough as they lost the third set 25-15.

“So here is the challenge that we had is consistency, we have a challenge in consistency that we all acknowledge that. Communication is important, we acknowledge we should be calling the ball all the

team so we do that but then everything it seems fine but I think sometimes athletes conclude all right we don’t have any communication problem …. (it’s) is the same thing with positioning…” said coach Pelosi. .

In the third set the Knights were losing 3-2 when a spike by Martinez went barely in and she was pumped up to tie the game at three.

After the time out the Knights immediately took off. The Knights went on 11-2 run to tie the game at 17. You could see on the players’ faces the excitement and the energy..

The Knights were then losing 20-19 when Holyoke called a time out.

At the end of the third set it got pretty intense. The game was a nail biter back and forth game. The Knights took the lead late in the game to make it 23-22.

The Knights made it 24-22 and they were one point away from forcing a set four and they did just that beating Holyoke 25-23 in the third set.

In the fourth set the Knights scored the first two points before Holyoke scored. The Knights on the fourth set started off on a 8-3 run. The Knights increased their lead to six when they were up 11 to 5. The Knights increased their lead to nine and they were totally dominate in the fourth set.

A spike by Martinez made it 18-9. The Knights increased their lead by 13, they were up 22-9 and the Knights held on for a 25-9 win to force a set five.

On a decisive set five every point is huge for both teams and instead of 25 whoever scores 15 wins the set and wins the game. The first team that scores eight points both teams swap benches and they rotate until the set is over.

Holyoke started the fifth set on a 6-2 run on the Knights.

The Knights were eventually down by seven. Holyoke made it 13-5 and eventually the Knights lost the fifth set 15 to 6.

The Knights come back down two sets to none, but fell short as they lost three sets to two against Holyoke.

I asked Coach Pelosi about the resilience that they had coming back from two set to none and almost winning the game, they never quit, they fought and fought until the end.

“I think it shows personal growth. In our last home game we didn’t have that level of grit so I think this shows that they are willing to hang in there and fight and if you look at a lot of the top performance teams ,they’re not  necessarily winning by a giant score margin but they had that level of grit and they stick it in with a lot of adversity… in situations similar level teams, slightly better teams, so I felt way better about today’s game then some of the game prior early in the season. It really made me feel a lot better today,” Coach Pelosi said.

Slider, Sports

Knights soccer made it four straight win

and  

On Tuesday Oct. 11, the NECC Knights blanked  Mass Bay Community College  4-0 for a conference division game.

I asked NECC Knights assistant head coach Marcos Viera Filho if it was positive thing or a negative that the next five games are going to be against conference division teams.

“I think is a positive because basically we had the whole season to prepare for it. So there is no excuses, you know we had time to prepare and I think we have been getting better as the seasons went a long so I think it in the right time,” said Viera Filho before the game.

The game started at 3:30 p.m. The Knights had an early 1-0 lead, three minutes into the game Sam De Amorim of Methuen scored on an assist from Fadi Serhan of Middletown.

The Knights had two corner kicks in less than 12 minutes.

In the 15 minutes into the game a player of Mass Bay touched the ball and passed it to the goaltender and the coach was red hot as the referee did not saw that.

39 minutes into the game the goaltender of Mass Bay was out cold as he got hit in a collision with one of the players.

The goaltender Jack Randlett was taken out of the game and the back up goal tender came in.

Knights soccer against Mass Bay
Knights soccer against Mass Bay Photo by Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

Knights soccer player Leonard Rodriguez Ortiz of Methuen and Mass Bay player  Gift Soto Kuepouo both got a yellow card for unsportsmanlike behavior.  

The Knights were up 1-0 at the half.

The Knights had 11 shots on goal while Mass Bay had one. The Knights and Mass Bay both had three corner kicks and both teams had four fouls and both teams had a yellow card.

The Knights had two corner kicks in the first five minutes.

In the 62 minutes in the game De Amorim got an assist by Johnathan Diaz to make it 2-0 Knights.

Serhan was issue a yellow card for slamming the ball into the ground 75 minutes into the game.

I talked to the assistant head coach about Serhan’s actions.

“It wasn’t just Fadi (Serhan), that was something that happened with a couple players, it has been something that we have been dealing with during the season but I think the best way for us is to practice on that is to really make intense moments in practices situation that are going to be competitive in practice so we can get to used to dealing with some adversity,” said Viera Filho.

Ethan Mugwany of Haverhill scored the third goal of the game in the 79th minute of the game.

In the very next minutes the Knights did not waste any time to make this game 4-0 — Sem Milambo of Lawrence scored on a  assist of De Amorim.

The Knights had 14 shots on goal while Mass Bay had one. The Knights also had five corner kicks and Mass Bay none. Both teams each had a yellow card and a foul.

“The last two games it was definitely important wins as a team collectively but obviously we have tough competition coming up with better records, so it  is good that we got to win but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Viera Filho.

The Knights in the second half had 14 shots on goal and Mass Bay one. The Knights had 14 corner kicks and Mass Bay zero. Both teams had a foul while Knights had two yellow cards and Mass Bay none.

Features, Home Page News Bytes

Unidos Paint Night: Special night celebrates creativity, art, music and meditation

and  
Participants in Unidos Paint Night show off their work in the Dimitry building on the Lawrence campus
Paint Night participants hold up their artwork in the Dimitry building on the Lawrence campus on Sept. 27. Photo courtesy by Owner of Collectva & Wellness, Elizabeth Delgado

Unidos Paint Night at NECC Lawrence Campus on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 27, brought together a group of women to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

This wonderful group of all ages, and Hispanic demographics were brought together with a meditation guided by Elizabeth Delgado, owner of Colectiva Wellness & Healing, an employee wellbeing strategist and energy healing and resilience practitioner. As well there was a wonderful painting lesson taught by Nicole “Kiki” Garcia, an extremely talented multimedia artist and Lawrence native. The person who brought this all together was Analuz “Lulu” Garcia, NECC Director of Community Relations.

The night started off with introductions, stating names, ages, jobs, Hispanic heritages and stress levels. This group included women of all ages being students and faculty or even friends of faculty. Some stress levels ranged from one to one million. Soon after introductions we began breathing exercises taught by Delgado, everyone found one they gained relief from after practicing, hoping to take what they learned that night for when they need it. Then began a guided meditation where we envisioned our homelands, picturing colors and nature, being surrounded by our families, and the smell of our home cooked meals.

Katiashka Perez holding her painting.
Katiashka Perez holding her painting. Photo by Shantely Aquino

After, a painting lesson with Garcia began, we all had to choose the colors of our countries flags. The group gathered and we listened to Spanish music, laughed and did our own versions of the same painting. Different shades of blues and different shades of hands and unique flowers were painted.

An NECC nursing student, Katiashka Perez said “I came out because when I saw the event on the NECC event page online it sounded like fun.”

She had mentioned how she hadn’t necessarily been a painter, more of a drawer and how she does yoga and mediation sometimes.

Her stress level began with three and when asked at the end of the night it was brought down to one. She is of Puerto Rican descent and she was excited about this way of celebrating her Hispanic Heritage in this intimate setting.

This event wasn’t just a relaxing event for the participants but also for the hosts. Artist Garcia mentioned how when she gives a painting lesson to adults and children it is more structured and this night provided a calming fluidity when putting our individual paintings together. There, each and every painting being similar but not the same to the next.

When asking both Delgado and Garcia how long they’ve been hosting these paint nights they said it was their fourth ever. They had met at a vendor sale called Solude Arte, an art and wellness market which features local artists and healers that come together annually during holidays. From there they connected to bring people together with art and meditation.
Garcia is the very definition of a multimedia artist. When asked how she started she says “I learned how to paint before I could even walk,” with her father being an artist himself she was born into art. She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture but she also does commissions for digital and physical art alongside making jewelry, ceramics, sticker prints and writing. You can find her art on Instagram @kikididdat and shop on her site shopkikiarts.com.

An extremely talented and multi-faceted woman was the perfect person to guide the participants through this night with Delgado.

Delgado has been on a journey of spiritualism and event coordination for about 20 years. She is of Taino descent, she finds the term Puerto Rican to be colonized. She hates to label and box herself into a category but she labels what she does as employee wellbeing strategist, energy healing and resilience practitioner. With her H.R. and employee healing background along with her resilience work with PTSD and domestic volence victims she brought together her knowledge of these topics to create Collectiva Wellness & Healing.

With her words filled with the purpose of connecting and moving her audience she brought some women to tears.

Delgado says her journey began when she was helping a relative with a headache, she had the intention of simply taking away his pain and with enough thought he went away.

Soon she went on a spiritual journey and eventually found her way to energy healing which she now does as her career. She stated that one thing she wants everyone to know when reading this, Delgado states “I think it’s important to connect the intersections of art and healing into spaces because the two are so powerful. When you bring in art and wellness into a space it really transforms people and communities and the culture of places.”

After experiencing this night with the connection of art and healing everyone leaving that night could say their stress levels decreased.

Arts and Entertainment, Home Page News Bytes

NECC gives remarks on the conclusion of “The Walking Dead”

and  

When I was in seventh grade, in 2014, I fell in love with not just a TV show, but a world of fandom and opportunities that would continue to inspire me for years to come. This came about when I started watching “The Walking Dead.” Ever since watching the first few seasons in middle school, I am still inspired by the series and what its themes stands for. Love, loss, harmony, turmoil, you name it! “The Walking Dead” has revolutionized the zombie genre in such a powerful way, that I still ended up loving it, even though I had never watched anything with too many trappings in common with it.

Right now, Season 11 is airing. It has only a handful of episodes left, and once all that remains is released, fans will endure the end of an era, as the start of something new for the franchise will begin to unfold. In short, “The Walking Dead” is ending. As a fan who has been positively impacted by this show in so many ways for so many years, that means something.

However, fans such as myself, who enjoy the spinoffs, like “Fear the Walking Dead,” and the two-season limited series, “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” will have plenty of new content to look forward to within this universe, as there are more spinoffs in the works, such as “Dead CIty,” an upcoming spin-off that will take place in the post-apocalyptic New York City, starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan respectively reprising their roles as Maggie and Negan. There will also be an untitled spin-off series following Norman Reedus as his fan-favorite character, Daryl. Personally, the spin-off that I am most excited about, is the untitled mini series starring former “Walking Dead” lead Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, and his girlfriend, Michonne, played by Danai Gurira. I loved the love story between Rick and Michonne before they both left “the

Walking Dead,” and I can’t wait to see what’s next for them as one of the best TV duos of all time!

Here at the Observer, I spoke to David Arivella, an academic technology assistant here at Northern Essex. Arivella is not caught up with ‘The Walking Dead,” but nonetheless, I still asked him about some of the reasons why he did enjoy the seasons that he watched, “I think it was about the characters, relating to them and the way they acted, and watching them get through whatever was going on in the given storyline.” His favorite character was Rick, “As a character, I thought Rick was the most relatable, with the way he handled himself. I liked how he became a leader, even though he didn’t really take on that responsibility himself, but because the other characters looked up to him.”

Northern Essex Liberal Arts Coordinator Kim Lyng has watched The Walking Dead for years. When asked for some insight as to what the show and its themes stand for, she says, “It’s that basic good versus evil premise and why it’s worth fighting for a better world.”

Lyng’s favorite character was Glenn, “…it also offers hope because of the characters in the show like Glenn who emulate the good in people and why love and community and family matter so much, especially in difficult times.”
Witness the conclusion of this legendary series as the final episodes are airing every Sunday night at 9:00 PM on AMC. Watch each episode early by subscribing to AMC+!

Home Page News Bytes, News
and  

The past two years have been trying in ways few of us would’ve thought possible.

While some might have predicted an event like the Coronavirus Outbreak of 2020, few could have predicted the wide reaching societal impact it had and the conflict and melodrama it helped give rise to in the ensuing months. In many minds this period will be marked by memories of turmoil and panic, with footage of anti-mask protests and violence and confrontation at school board meetings serving as a reminder of the widespread unrest we all felt and witnessed.

While many of us have already forgotten life during the Coronavirus pandemic, some have found their plans permanently derailed in its aftermath.

Particular attention has been paid towards students given how the learning experience changed after restrictions were imposed on public gatherings.

While some students and educators might’ve had a positive experience with remote learning, most are now happy to return to a face to face format.

Not all students have experienced such a seamless transition back in person.

Max Levesque of Newburyport was set to begin college at the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester, but soon found himself unable to keep up with the coursework.

“It wasn’t enough to get me to feel motivated honestly, It’s not the same as having a teacher and going to class. There’s nowhere to go in the morning.”

It didn’t help that Levesque had already been experiencing feelings of depression and anxiety after the first COVID lockdown began, but the pressure of trying to complete a full course load online only helped exacerbate an already tense situation.

Soon he began to notice the weeks go by even as he still found himself unable to focus on his classwork.
By the end of the Fall Semester Levesque had withdrawn from all his classes. Though it was his choice to not return to school, Levesque still has mixed feelings about his decision.

“I felt so guilty that I dropped my classes, I still don’t really know if I wanna go back to school. It feels like I’m behind everyone else now. It’s just not something I think I’m ready to do.”

This situation has become all too common for mental health workers in the fallout of the pandemic.

“I’ve gotten at least 12 referrals over the past few months for college aged kids in these same situations,” says Rebbeca Miller of Haverhill, a licensed psychiatrist who works particularly with adolescents and college aged clients.

“The world might as well have stopped, so it’s easy to understand how frustrating it is to try to restart your education after having already been removed from that environment for so long.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Miller has seen an uptick in college aged clients, many of whom first started experiencing mental health issues while the pandemic was ongoing. “Decisions about education and what career path to take are always going to be difficult. These decisions become even harder once you realize we’ve just come out of a two year period of nationwide reclusion. It really becomes difficult to move forward when you feel like you’ve already missed something.”

Nonetheless, Miller is optimistic, “I think things will get better over time. Once people start to receive the help and support they need to overcome the hardships they’ve been hit with over these last couple years. It’s just another adjustment.”

While Levesque has no plans to return to college in the near future, he still hopes to one day begin taking classes again and complete his degree.

“If I could get the chance to ask questions face to face and talk to my professors, I think I’d be a much more engaged student, I think things would go differently.”

Features, Home Page News Bytes

A glimpse into the writing major option

and  

Northern Essex Community College provides students with the tools needed to succeed, and the Liberal Arts Writing Option program gives students the opportunity to expand their career while they are enhancing their skills.

The Liberal Arts Writing Option major has been around for a long time.

Northern Essex’s English department created the program so those who are interested in enrolling have the freedom to explore both creative and professional writing styles.

When speaking with Professor Patricia Portanova, she said, “The purpose behind the writing program is to give students the foundation in creative and professional writing skills so that they can take on and use either in transferring to a four-year college program that focuses on creative writing or to the workplace, being able to work as a writer.”

Regardless of their career path, many who choose this route are sharpening their writing skills which are highly valued everywhere you go.

Currently, there are 24 students combined from the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses.

Skills developed during and after the first two years at NECC varies depending on one’s intended career path.

Students will learn how to pay attention to detail, developing character, description, and “flushing out a narrative” if they want to pursue a career that requires them to be creative.

When asked about the phrase, “flushing out a narrative,” Portanova explained that it meant to develop and tell a story.

That is one of the most important skills to have and it can be transferred to several settings.

Benefits of being in the writing option is that it is flexible. After completing the program, students can transfer to B.A. programs in English, Writing, Communications, and as well as other liberal arts majors.

Also, it prepares students for entry-level jobs.

To name a few, jobs such as a technical writer, an English teacher, content editor, freelance writer, and many more are available to individuals who are pursing the Liberal Arts Writing Option program.

Experienced writers are in demand as the media continues to bloom. Further, the program can be taken fully online so students can still enroll if they can not come in person.

To learn more about the Writing Option, visit https://www.necc.mass.edu/learn/credit-programs/communication-arts/liberal-arts-writing/

Campus Life, Home Page News Bytes

NECC Trick-or-Treat and the roots of Samhain

and  

In September, it was announced on NECC’s website that the Office of Student Life and the SOAR team would be hosting a Campus Wide Trick-or-Treat on All Hallow’s Eve, which has sparked excitement among students.

The event, hosted in both Haverhill and Lawrence, will include trick-or-treating throughout the campuses and offices as well as a virtual costume contest. Though it may not appear so at first, the festivities offered by Northern Essex Community College do resemble those that date back to the original traditions of Samhain.

Samhain is a pagan Festival that comes from the ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. Today, it is commonly observed from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 to welcome in what celebrants called the “dark half of the year” and honor the time of harvest.

The ancient Celts also believed that the barriers between our physical world and the spirit world were the thinnest during this time of year, which allowed for closer interaction between ancestors and denizens of the Otherworld.

Given this, Samhain has been considered a time for gathering and connection within family and community. In its earliest days, Samhain consisted of celebrations of the Fire Festivals which included bonfires known as Samghnagans as well as carved turnips called jack-o’-lanterns; these appeared in the Middle Ages and were attached by strings to sticks and filled with coal.

Later on, with embedded Irish tradition, turnips were swapped out with pumpkins.

Another tradition of this time was “dumb supper.” In this celebration, great feasts were consumed by celebrants, but only after inviting ancestors to join it; this gave families a chance to interact with the spirits of their late relatives until they departed the physical world.

The children of the families would play games to entertain the dead, and adults would give updates on the news of the past year.

During the night, doors and windows were left open so that the dead could come in and eat the cakes that had been offered to them.

These ancient traditions eventually merged with our understanding of Halloween today, as 19th century Irish American immigrants brought their Traditions across the ocean. I

n fact, trick-or-treating was derived from old Scottish and Irish traditions known as “mumming.” This tradition consisted of putting on costumes, going door-to-door, and singing songs to the Dead; homemade cakes were commonly given to those who participated.

Samhain celebrants who did not take part in mumming would dress up as animals and monsters to ward away fairies. The “trick” aspect also originated from Samhain practices, though, old celebration tricks were typically blamed on fairies attached to the Celtic folklore.

When observing Samhain and other October celebrations, such as Diwali and Dias de Los Muertos, the ideas of family, friends, and community shine bright. With the upcoming campus festivities, we are again drawing on the traditions of community and connection.

This event not only reflects the original values of old Halloween, but also reminds us that it is not simply a commercial holiday primarily meant to be enjoyed by children, but a time for all to gather, no matter the age. It reminds us that this holiday is rooted deeply, and can be honored as such.

The event tables will be located in the second-floor lobby of the Student Center (SC) and the Dimitry (L) Building Atrium, respectively, on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses. For more information, visit the “Events” page on the official NECC website (necc.mass.edu).